


Nothing you can measure anymore

by polytropic



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Multi, Pack Dynamics, Polyamory, warning: canonical domestic abuse, warning: possibly dubious consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-15
Updated: 2012-12-15
Packaged: 2017-11-21 05:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/593881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polytropic/pseuds/polytropic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fight with the Alpha Pack forces Isaac to make a choice that could turn his life upside-down once again. Scott is there to help.</p>
<p>(Written for the Teen Wolf Holiday Exchange)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing you can measure anymore

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quartermasteries.tumblr.com](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=quartermasteries.tumblr.com).



> Warning: this work contains a character with canonical physical and verbal domestic abuse in his past, another character’s observations on possible effects of this abuse, two characters who have canonically physically injured each other now negotiating a romantic relationship, accidental physical harm from one character in this relationship to another, possible dubious consent (kissing while under the influence of supernatural transformation), and solving love triangles with polyamory
> 
> This work is from the Teen Wolf Holiday Exchange 2012 and was written for quartermasteries based on the request: _Isaac x Scott, hurt/comfort, snuggles_. It got away from me a little but thankfully still mostly fits that prompt. I really like writing from Scott's POV apparently? This is very confusing to me since I don't actually think I understand him very well. 
> 
> Title comes from "The Future" by Leonard Cohen. Hey, at least it isn't another pop song?

Isaac is a hard person to understand, and Scott isn’t arrogant enough to think that he’s getting there after knowing him only a year. But there are a couple of things that he does know, things that are so obvious or important that they’re impossible to miss: Isaac wants people around that he can look up to and feel safe with, Isaac is vicious when he’s hurt but not when he’s scared, and when something triggers his werewolf instincts, his _first_ instinct is always to run and hide.

He doesn’t hide in any space smaller than a bathroom, though. That one’s kind of a no-brainer.

Scott eventually finds him in the school locker room, fully clothed underneath a pouring shower. It’s weird how familiar that is; for a minute Scott feels like he’s having an out-of-body experience, watching his past self bowing his head under the spray. But Isaac’s thinner than Scott was even back then. Scott can count the knobs of his spine through his shirt, could fit his hand completely around the fragile-looking bones in his wrists.  

“Hey.”

Isaac doesn’t startle. Still and watchful is always his m.o., and that doesn’t seem to have changed even now. He reaches out and turns down the shower until only a thin stream is still running over his head, but he doesn’t turn around to look at Scott. That’s probably a bad sign.

“They got Boyd to Deaton in time.”

Isaac’s shoulders twitch, once, then crumple a little. That looks like relief, Scott guesses. That’s good.

“Erica wants to thank you. Derek too.”

The sudden screech of claws on wet tiles makes Scott freeze in place. He’d been slowly walking closer, feeling water creeping up the hems of his pants, but now he stills and fights the urge to lets his own claws slide out. Isaac can probably hear his heart rate kick up. Scott peers across the dark room and sees Isaac’s hands braced against the wall, digging out deep parallel scratches.

“Did Derek. Did he say anything?” Anyone other than a werewolf wouldn’t be able to hear Isaac over the sound of the steadily dripping shower.

“He said thank you. And that no one has to make any decisions about anything right now. He wants you to come back and talk it over.”

“I _can’t_.”

That answer is fast and a little panicked. Scott knows exactly what that specific kind of fear means, too: ‘I can’t do that because I don’t trust myself to stay in control.’ It’s been a long time since he or Isaac had that problem. But, well, this is kind of new territory.

“Okay. We can just stay here. I told them not to call me.”

Silence, and then almost too softly to hear even with werewolf senses: “Thank you.”

Scott decides to risk moving closer again, and when it doesn’t seem to get any kind of negative reaction, he makes his ways across the showers until he’s close enough to feel the spray. His shoes are totally soaked by now, and his pants are getting there too.

Isaac waits until Scott is right next to him before he talks again. Scott can tell that he’s darting glances at him, but he can’t meet his eyes through the soaking curls that are screening his face.

“I didn’t want this to happen. I don’t want this.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Getting permission to touch Isaac kind of has to happen in stages, Scott has discovered. First he’s got to make eye contact and pretty clearly telegraph what he’s about to do, then step close enough to breach that invisible bubble of safe space around him. If nothing rings wrong about that, if Isaac’s heartbeat doesn’t change and the air doesn’t smell acid and dangerous, then Scott can touch his fingers lightly to his arm, or back, or shoulder. Scott has learned to let that first touch sit for a minute, to leave it right there until Isaac decides what to do about it. It’s nice, these days, that most of the time he’ll decide to press into it.

This time, though, Scott hasn’t done more than reach his hand out before Isaac is grasping onto his fingers, desperate and almost too hard. Scott grits his teeth and ignores the feeling of his bones grinding. Isaac is stronger than either of them are used to, but that’s not important right now, Scott can deal.

Isaac keeps ducking his head, but when Scott reaches forward with his other hand, he lets him brush the hair back from his face and meet his eyes. Scott’s had time to prepare himself for what he’ll see, so he doesn’t even flinch at the burning red gaze looking back at him.

“I don’t want this,” Isaac repeats, low and desperate. “I never want to be an Alpha.”

Scott knows that, and it makes him ache all over because even though Isaac knew exactly what would happen, he didn’t hesitate for a second to bury his claws in the throat of the Alpha pack member who was about to break Boyd’s skull. Derek probably wouldn’t have gotten there in time, but Isaac could have stepped back and bet on him being just fast enough. He could have, and he didn’t.

“I know,” he says again, then takes a risk and tugs Isaac forward into him. Isaac doesn’t flinch or fight it but he stands stiff in the circle of Scott’s arms, shivering a little as the water on his skin cools. “I know, and I’m. I’m really proud. You saved his life.”

“Scott what am I…what am I gonna…” Isaac’s shivering harder now, eyes wide and heartrate spiking.

“No, I promise, it’ll be okay! We, Deaton said…” Scott was going to wait to tell him about this until he was calmer, but it’s spilling out of his mouth now, unplanned. “He said he can help you. He knows a way to let you make someone else Alpha instead.”

“What?”

“He said you can give it away, Isaac. If you want to. If you really can’t do this, you can give it to me, or Erica said she would take it too. You don’t have to be Alpha. It’s okay.”

Isaac is completely still for a long moment, and then he makes a sharp, wounded noise and buries his face in Scott’s shoulder. Scott isn’t sure if that’s a good reaction or a bad one, so he just holds on. He hears ripping noises from the back of his shirt, but doesn’t feel even a hint of claws on his skin—Isaac is always so careful, even now when he can’t actually control the shift itself.

“You don’t have to do that,” Scott eventually deciphers as what Isaac is mumbling into his shoulder.

“I want to. If you want me to.”

Scott keeps his tone low and smooth and very gentle, because he’s noticed that a lot of the time, Isaac responds based on how you say something, not necessarily on what you’re saying. He listens to the words (that was proved pretty conclusively the time Derek snapped “Are any of you even listening to me?!” and Isaac had sat up like he’d been shocked and recited everything Derek had said in the last five minutes. It had been uncomfortable for everyone, and Derek had looked like he had no idea what to do or say), but he decides how to react to those words based on the mood he thinks you’re in. Scott thinks he sort of gets why he works that way, and a lot of the time it makes him so angry that his head hurts.

“You don’t have to decide right now. But you have options. Whatever you want to do about it, whatever you need, we’ve all got your back. I’m here to help.”

Isaac makes another noise, this one deep in his chest, and Scott has half a second to be weirded out by how much like Derek it sounds before Isaac has grabbed the back of his head and yanked him into a kiss.

“Mmph!” Scott says, which isn’t exactly brilliant. He’s honestly, really _surprised_ , though. Isaac doesn’t take things he wants like this, that’s not how he works, is it? Except, being an Alpha sure made Derek do and take whatever he wanted without thinking first. Apparently it’s a thing.

So is Isaac’s mouth. It’s…definitely a thing, a thing that’s on Scott’s mouth. Wow. Scott’s only ever kissed one person before, and maybe everyone kisses really differently? Because Isaac’s kiss is slick and cool and wet with water from his hair, and desperate and vicious and somehow a little sweet, too, just like him, and Scott is…just, wow. He tilts his head a little, adjusts the fit of their mouths (Isaac’s never done this before, pretty clearly, and that gives Scott a kind of worrying jolt of heat in his stomach) and Isaac whines into him. Scott feels his hands curl and uncurl on his back, and then he breaks away.

“Sorry. Allison. I shouldn’t.” Isaac’s voice is rough, breathless and questioning. His lips and his eyes are both a rich, deep red.

Isaac isn’t actually sorry about Allison, Scott knows. He’s sorry because he thinks Scott is going to be mad or hurt, but if Isaac thought he could steal Scott outright without getting in trouble for it, he would. Scott still doesn’t know how he feels about that. He just knows that it isn’t a deal-breaker for their friendship.

A lot of things that Scott would have thought were deal-breakers have turned out not to be. Sometimes he thinks that’s what their whole friendship-plus-question-mark is based on: Isaac expecting Scott at any moment to decide he’s unworthy, and Scott gradually coming to scarier and scarier realizations about how very few things really could make him decide that.

Scott also sometimes feels like his life is a constant struggle between his basic instinct to feel and understand and say things with simple, strong clarity, and his unfailing ability to get attached to people with whom nothing is ever simple. It’s probably Stiles’ fault, Scott met him first and he started the pattern. Though even Stiles has never made anything in Scott’s life quite as complicated as he’s about to do himself.

“You shouldn’t,” he agrees at last, and Isaac is suddenly several steps away almost faster than Scott’s eye can follow. He’s getting ready to say something cruel, too, Scott can tell by how hurt his eyes are and how his mouth is twisting in the way he pretty obviously copied from Erica. “Because right now you’re power tripping. It’s the new Alpha thing, you weren’t around for this but I saw how it messed with Derek’s head. It’s like you’re drunk right now, dude. And, I know you know this ‘cuz we both sat through the same assemblies: drunk people can’t consent. So, yeah. You shouldn’t. Right now.”

“Right now.” Isaac repeats, slowly. Scott is a little worried that his revelation of ‘hey, so I had Stiles do some really embarrassing internet searches involving key terms like ‘dating two people at once but not in a lying kind of way’ and it turns out that’s a thing and might be a thing we might actually want to try?’ is giving Isaac the same shell-shocked look that suddenly becoming an Alpha werewolf did. “So if I get rid of being an Alpha…?”

“Or don’t!” The last thing Scott wants is for this to turn into some ‘we can only date if you make me Alpha’ situation. “Just…when things are less crazy.”

“Because our lives are such oases of calm.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay. But you know what I mean, right?”

“Yeah.”

There is silence in the dark locker room for a while, making the regular dripping of the shower echo off the tiles.

“Do you wanna go home? You can see Deaton in the morning.”

“No, I can talk to him tonight.” Isaac sighs, and then Scott feels damp curls rest themselves gingerly on his shoulder. “Can we stay here for another minute, though?”

Scott wraps an arm around the thin shoulders next to him and feels water soak into his shirt. Beneath the wet material of his shirt, though, Isaac’s skin is finally starting to feel warm again. “Sure. Of course.”


End file.
